


The Archivist In The Tower

by SageAdvice



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe, But only (1) per person, Fluff, Gen, jon lives in a tower and answers questions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:41:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25682191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SageAdvice/pseuds/SageAdvice
Summary: Jonathon Sims lives in an imposing tower in the woods. A young village girl has a kitten to give away.
Comments: 16
Kudos: 60





	The Archivist In The Tower

Lily was 10 years old and had a purple dress and a basket full of kittens. The barn cat’s litter was large this year, and her mother had instructed her to give the kittens away to anybody she could. 

The baker had taken one for his bakery, and the carpenter had taken two, but the runt with bright orange fur remained in the bottom of her basket. 

Lily had talked to everybody in town, but nobody wanted the runt. So, she supposed she would have to leave town. The nearest building was the dark tower in the forest to the south. 

The wise woman said the man who lived in the tower was “insufferable” but Lily didn’t know what that meant. The wise woman used lots of large words, but Lily was too scared of her to ask what they all meant. 

She would just have to go to the tower and see for herself. 

There was a small path through the trees that led towards the tower, not deeply worn but used just often enough that it was visible. Lily paid very close attention and stayed on the path. She was a very responsible girl. 

The wise woman had called her “precocious” but Lily also wasn’t sure what that meant. 

The tower looked taller up close. It was made of dark stone and there was only one door. Taped to the door was a note. Lily sounded it out to herself. 

“No sol-ici-ta-tion. Seekers of knowledge must bring something of equal value. One question each.” 

Well, Lily wasn’t sure if she was seeking knowledge, but maybe the kitten in her basket was worth something. Maybe the man inside even knew all the words that the wise woman used.

She knocked. 

The man who opened the door look rumpled. His shirt was backwards and he wasn’t wearing shoes. Also, he looked like he hadn’t slept in days. When he spoke, his voice was deep. 

“Yes?” He asked. Lily spoke up in the politest voice she had. 

“Hello, Mister. My name is Lily and I was wondering if you wanted a kitten? Only my mother says we don’t need them all and nobody wants this one ‘cuz he’s the runt, so I was wondering if you did?” Lily spoke, all in one breath. 

The man didn’t respond for a long moment and Lily wondered if he was deaf like old farmer Porter. Just as she was about to start miming her question, the man spoke up. 

“I suppose a cat wouldn’t be the worst thing to have around here. May I see her?” 

Lily wasn’t sure how the man knew the cat was a her, but she handed him the basket all the same. The man’s hands were scarred when he reached in for the kitten, but he was gentle. 

“What would you like for him, Miss Lily?” 

“Well, that sign on your door said that you answer questions, and there’s lots of words that I don’t know and my mother never learned them either, and I was hoping you knew?” Lily asked hopefully. 

The man looked thoughtful, and she almost thought she saw a smile on his face. 

“What sorts of words?” 

“The wise woman says that you’re insufferable, and I’m precocious, and she called Missus Green histrionic when her cow got loose from its pen. Also, your sign says something about solicitation?” Each word that Lily did not know was sounded out carefully, syllable by syllable. 

The man hummed and disappeared into the tower. Lily frowned, had she asked too many questions? The sign had said only one question each but Lily had been so curious. Darn it all. 

The man reappeared in the door, with the basket in hand but without the cat. 

“Oh, are you keeping the runt then, Mister?” Lily asked. Then she frowned, “rats, that was another question, wasn’t it?” 

The man handed her the basket and then he gave her something else. It was a small book, bound in dyed red leather. Embossed on the cover was the word “dictionary”. 

When Lily got home that night she showed her mother the book, and together they found all of the words they could remember the wise woman using. 

Lily was incandescent with glee.


End file.
